Researchers have found that the hormone oxytocin plays a role in many aspects of social awareness, and they have been investigating whether it could benefit children with autism.
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Autism therapies and treatments
The Early Start Denver Model is an autism therapy that made news with reports that it "normalized" some toddlers' brain activity. Parents have looked to autism interventions for cures since psychologist O. Ivar Lovaas reported, in a groundbreaking study in 1987, that recovery is possible. But the Denver Model study provided the first physical evidence – in the form of brain wave tests – that an autism intervention works.
In an earlier article we described Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a centerpiece of many autism-focused intervention programs.
This is the first in a three-part series on behavioral interventions for autism spectrum disorders.
One intervention many families consider is social skills training. A lack of intuitive social ability is a hallmark of autism. Social skills training is aimed at addressing the challenges that result, and often plays a central role in treatment plans.
Up to 50 families a day in the United States receive the news that their child has autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
With special thanks to Teresa Anderson, OTR/L, Senior Occupational Therapist of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, for her contribution to this article
Since its launch in April of 2007, the Interactive Autism Network (IAN) project has been collecting information online from families of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) from throughou